'Mechanical issue' delays Biman flight to Abu Dhabi for 9 hours

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, experienced a wing flap malfunction, according to Biman officials

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka to the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi was delayed for nine hours due to a wing malfunction before takeoff, much to the dismay of passengers.

The issue caused a major disruption in the flight schedule on Tuesday.

The BG-128 flight was set to leave Dhaka for Abu Dhabi at 9:10pm on Tuesday, with a return flight to Chattogram scheduled for 2:45am.

However, due to mechanical issues, a replacement aircraft reached Abu Dhabi at 6am local time on Wednesday. Later, the same flight departed from Shaikh Zayed International Airport for Chattogram at 10:45am.

The grounded aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, experienced a wing flap malfunction, according to Anwarul Ferdous, Biman’s acting regional manager in Abu Dhabi.

“Ensuring flight safety is essential, so all systems are thoroughly checked before takeoff. Any issue with the aircraft detected pre-flight is termed 'technical' by the authorities and it must be addressed before departure. Despite extended efforts, the problem with the BG-128 could not be fixed in time," he said.

“The first aircraft that was supposed to fly faced technical issues and we had to use a different aircraft to transport the passengers. Hence, the flight was delayed for nine hours," said Al Masud Khan, manager of Biman's Public Relations Department.

Although the flight was scheduled to take off at 9:10pm on Tuesday for Abu Dhabi, it eventually took off at 6am on Wednesday, he added. Then, it left Abu Dhabi for Chattogram at 10:45am with 143 passengers onboard.

Earlier on Jun 24, an Abu Dhabi-bound flight of the national carrier was found with cracks on one of its windshield after it took off.

The passengers were flown to Abu Dhabi after a delay of five hours in a different aircraft.